This is the most common problem with passport applications. Please review our photo requirements before taking a new photo.

If only one (or neither) parent or guardian applied in person for the child’s passport, we may have a question about parental consent.

Please Note: You must submit Form DS-3053 or other notarized statements within three months of it being signed.

To show parental relationship, submit one of the following:

• U.S. birth certificate
• Foreign birth certificate
• Adoption decree
• Divorce/Custody decree

You may also have received this letter if your name has changed since the child’s birth. In that case, please send evidence of your name change. Examples include:

• Court-ordered name change
• Marriage certificate
• Divorce decree

You must submit both the original or certified birth certificate and a photocopy. To be acceptable, your U.S. birth certificate must meet the following requirements:

• Issued by the city, county, or state of birth
• Lists applicant’s full name, date of birth, and place of birth
• Lists parent(s)’ full names
• Has the signature of the city, county, or state registrar
• Has the date filed with registrar's office (must be within one year of birth)
• Has the seal of issuing authority

If your birth certificate did not meet one of those requirements, you must contact the vital records office of the state or territory in which you were born to order a new U.S. birth certificate. 

If there is no birth certificate on file in the state or territory in which you were born, you must submit a Letter of No Record and a combination of early public records. See Citizenship Evidence page for more information.

There are several reasons why we may need more information for your passport renewal application, such as:

• No photo was attached to the application
• The application was not completed or signed
• Your most recent passport was not submitted with the application
• The correct fee was not included with the application
• The name change document you submitted was not acceptable

Follow the instructions in the letter and return the requested documentation or application to the address on the letter. See Renew by Mail for more information. 

Please note: You may also have received a letter from us if you were not eligible to mail in your application.

When you applied in person, you had to show the acceptance agent a photo ID. If you received a letter or email asking for more identification, send us several photo IDs and include front-and-back photocopies of each one.  

If you were born outside the United States and acquired U.S. citizenship through the naturalization of your parent(s), please submit the following with your passport application:

• Your foreign birth certificate listing your parent(s)
• Evidence of your parent’s U.S. citizenship such as a U.S. birth certificate, Consular Report of Birth Abroad (CRBA), or naturalization certificate
• Evidence of your permanent residence status. Examples include:
  • Permanent Resident Card/Green Card
  • Foreign passport with the original I-551 visa entry stamp
• Your parents' marriage certificate (if your parents were married when you legally entered the U.S. and before your 18th birthday) 
• Documentation of legal custody when you entered the United States, if your parents were not married at that time. If your parents divorced after you entered the United States, provide documentation of legal custody at the time of your parent’s naturalization 
• Evidence that you resided in the United States in the legal and physical custody of your U.S. citizen parent 
• Evidence of your legitimation (if your parents were not married at the time of your birth). Legitimation means a father – whose child was born when he was not married – establishes a full legal relationship to his child. Establishing this relationship gives the father the same rights and obligations as if his child had been born while he was married to the child’s mother.
• Examples of legitimation include:
  • Your parents' marriage certificate dated after your birth
  • Certified court order of legitimation 

Please see U.S. Citizenship Laws & Policy for more information.

U.S. Citizenship through Adoption

If you were born outside the United States and acquired citizenship through adoption by a U.S. citizen parent while under the age of 18, please see Child Citizenship Act of 2000 for more information.